FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States: Discussion Thread

[Crypto Library]

Mbappe will score a hat trick and yesterday's match between England and France was a very bad match for the 3rd position. I think they were planning it in advance so that even if Argentina wins the World Cup, Messi cannot win the Golden Boot. There is no record of 10 goals in any World Cup match this year. But the way England and France played, it seemed like everything was arranged. England scored 4 goals in the first 45 minutes and the way they managed to score, they felt that France was letting them score easily. That match yesterday didn't seem fair anymore.

In fact, no matter how much I try to explain it to you, it's natural that you won't want to understand because you've decided that what you're thinking is right. Even this is not only your own thinking this is a common thinking of a blind fan of Argentina team or Messi's fan.
Yes I can agree with this that the both team the England and France both team played only attacking form.

Defensive performance was actually less visible in this match, but that does not mean that this match was fixed in advance or that there was any foul play in this match. Rather, if we look at the global discussions or criticisms, there has already been a huge criticism of the Argentina and Egypt match where it has been said that the referee was biased.

[Plutomanian]

Argentina did not Underestimate Spain because they know the strong opponents Spain has been facing before reaching the final, Argentina did not face any strong team in this tournament from the beginning and the only strong team they face is England and it is because of Thomas Tuchel lack of confidence that make Argentina win the game, Argentina was never the favourite to win the World Cup and if they have not been favoured in some games they would have been eliminated since the round of 16, Spain is better than Argentina in any way and Argentina players did not expect the referee should be the person that do things in a fair way.

What was on the minds of the Argentine players? Because they don't seem to appear motivated on the pitch when they played against Spain. They had absolutely no composure and tempo on the pitch rather they were present for violent actions against their oppositions, one of the Argentine player, Enzo Fernandez was booked with two yellow cards which saw him off the pitch with a red. Many will come out to talked about the Red card and one man down as the reason why Argentina lost but that was not the case. They lost because they weren't the better team, and they had absolutely no attempt on full 90mins of open game play.

Luis de la Fuentes knows it was time for him and Spain to win something tangible and the only they could do it was lifting the world cup which puts Luis de la Fuentes on a very big stage especially in his managerial role at Spain.

[Juicyhome]

Argentina did not Underestimate Spain because they know the strong opponents Spain has been facing before reaching the final, Argentina did not face any strong team in this tournament from the beginning and the only strong team they face is England and it is because of Thomas Tuchel lack of confidence that make Argentina win the game, Argentina was never the favourite to win the World Cup and if they have not been favoured in some games they would have been eliminated since the round of 16, Spain is better than Argentina in any way and Argentina players did not expect the referee should be the person that do things in a fair way.

This is fact, I keep telling people that before the world cup, Argentina wasn't part of the discussion to win thr cup, it was Portugal, England, Brazil and France that were favorites to win.  Corrupt fifa helded messi and Argentina to reach the fifa, England was the only big test for Argentina but Tuchel messed up the game with his poor tactics.

Argentina was never favorite to win and I'm happy they didn't win the trophy,  Spain outshine them plug their corruption they couldn't win. Because they didn't play anything in the final, in 120 minutes messi had zero shot on target absolutely embarrassing.

[pawel7777]

So two days ago, Lionel Messi broke his silence and posted this on his social media:

The pain is immense, and it will take time for this wound to heal. But I also choose to remember everything that was good. I’ll remember the matches we fought back in, giving everything we had, and that will stay with us forever. I’ll remember the support of an entire country, which, together with the hard work and dedication of this group, helped us return, once again, to being among the best teams in the world. Right now, it’s difficult to appreciate what we achieved, but this group reached two consecutive World Cup finals.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for every message and every word of support. Once again, we managed to come together as a country, united by the immense pride of being Argentine.

I also want to congratulate Spain on winning the championship.

On one hand, it's hard not to feel sorry for him, it's almost definitely his last World Cup tournament (unless they develop a technology to reverse aging ) and he did surprisingly well in all games leading to the final, so him lifting the cup would be a perfect ending of his epic career. But then again, he's not necessarily the fairest-playing player out there. His and his team's behaviour in the final left a really bad taste. And life is not a fairy tale. Spain was a level above them and 100% deserved that win.

[BitBakerr1]

Alot of Big name are also in Squad but I think nobody can replace Messi position.  Hope Leo can continue has career and play thr next worldcup in the 2030 and hope they win it and this will be the best farewell for Leo Messi.

Actually, if Messi announces his retirement, it is the most anticipated thing, what he has achieved has all been achieved and it is an extraordinary achievement in the eyes of his fans. This is not about rivalry but it is about how this farewell is not interfered with by issues regarding his competition with C. Ronaldo, I think the current World Cup is the most appropriate time to declare farewell to declare retirement.

Messi should retire from international football, he has done very well for himself, and he has achieved a lot and helped his country to achieve a lot also, this is the time for him to retire, I was expecting Messi to declare his retirement after the World Cup, but he has not, but I believe he will do that very soon.
Same thing to Cristiano Ronaldo. He should also retire from international football. He has done very well for himself and for his country right now his already old so he should retire from international football and then after some years, he should also retire from football generally, it is time for him to rest. This is not time for him to continue playing football again.

[Italian Panic]

Messi should retire from international football, he has done very well for himself, and he has achieved a lot and helped his country to achieve a lot also, this is the time for him to retire, I was expecting Messi to declare his retirement after the World Cup, but he has not, but I believe he will do that very soon.
Same thing to Cristiano Ronaldo. He should also retire from international football. He has done very well for himself and for his country right now his already old so he should retire from international football and then after some years, he should also retire from football generally, it is time for him to rest. This is not time for him to continue playing football again.

It’s time for these legendary players to make way for the new international stars. I have to say that, between Portugal and Argentina, I see the latter faring worse without Messi, because without him there’s no one to create chances, and they’ll miss that emotional connection and goal-scoring flair that Leo was able to provide. All those assists he provided at the World Cup weren’t down to chance but were carefully crafted, and without their playmaker I can’t see them doing well for a few years.

[lombok]

Messi should retire from international football, he has done very well for himself, and he has achieved a lot and helped his country to achieve a lot also, this is the time for him to retire, I was expecting Messi to declare his retirement after the World Cup, but he has not, but I believe he will do that very soon.
Same thing to Cristiano Ronaldo. He should also retire from international football. He has done very well for himself and for his country right now his already old so he should retire from international football and then after some years, he should also retire from football generally, it is time for him to rest. This is not time for him to continue playing football again.

It’s time for these legendary players to make way for the new international stars. I have to say that, between Portugal and Argentina, I see the latter faring worse without Messi, because without him there’s no one to create chances, and they’ll miss that emotional connection and goal-scoring flair that Leo was able to provide. All those assists he provided at the World Cup weren’t down to chance but were carefully crafted, and without their playmaker I can’t see them doing well for a few years.

The dependency of Argentina on the skills of Messi is too high and without his skills, no other player is able to execute the onslaught of attacks as well as him. The attack of the national team will not be focused and agile without the maestro. The team needs to regenerate a new generation of players fast enough so as to make sure that the team remains competitive in the upcoming major tournaments.

[ingiltere]

FIFA has announced the tournament's best eleven, or as they called Dream XI. 3 players were selected from the champion team. There are 2 players from the other finalist. 3 players were selected from France, which failed to advance past the semi final.

Vozinha was named Best Goalkeeper. He put in a good performance. But it could just as easily have been Simon, who conceded only 1 goal throughout the entire tournament. Or Martinez, who made numerous crucial saves.
In defense, Pedro Porro, Lisandro Martinez, Upamecano and Cucurella were selected. I don't think anyone would argue with these choices.
In midfield, there are Rodri, Olise and Bellingham. In forward, there are Messi, Haaland and Mbappe. There were a few other players who deserved to be here, but only 11 could be chosen. I think this was a fair selection.

[danadc]

FIFA has announced the tournament's best eleven, or as they called Dream XI. 3 players were selected from the champion team. There are 2 players from the other finalist. 3 players were selected from France, which failed to advance past the semi final.

Vozinha was named Best Goalkeeper. He put in a good performance. But it could just as easily have been Simon, who conceded only 1 goal throughout the entire tournament. Or Martinez, who made numerous crucial saves.
In defense, Pedro Porro, Lisandro Martinez, Upamecano and Cucurella were selected. I don't think anyone would argue with these choices.
In midfield, there are Rodri, Olise and Bellingham. In forward, there are Messi, Haaland and Mbappe. There were a few other players who deserved to be here, but only 11 could be chosen. I think this was a fair selection.

I'm really happy for Vozinha because he's a very good player. The fact that he loves his mother so much speaks volumes about him. Besides being an impressive person, he plays very well in goal. He saved many goals from Messi, and he also silenced Spain when we all thought they were going to be thrashed. This is something many didn't expect, so of all of them, I'm happiest for this player. The others are expected, but this makes him even more special.

[Ale88]

I am seeing some posts and articles about how Argentina sold this game to Spain, it may sound ridiculous right? But I think there is an atom of truth in what goes down that day. How come a team play their worst match in the world cup final, everything about that game felt strange, the team, the players and the way the coach was moving substituting players was not what we were expecting, it all strange to me till now.

Please... How would ever sell a World Cup final? And, especially, why should they do it? For money? When they already make 10-15 millions per year? How many players should you corrupt at that point? Almost everyone, including the manager? It doesn't make any sense.
Argentina have simply been lucky they ended up in a very easy group and in the easy knock-out stage side, so they had an easy path until the semifinal. But the team was not that good, it was way weaker than 4 years ago: Messi is almost 40 years old and they never replaced Di Maria for example. El Dibu, once again, played a wonderful World Cup, but it wasn't enough.

[laijsica]

Alot of Big name are also in Squad but I think nobody can replace Messi position.  Hope Leo can continue has career and play thr next worldcup in the 2030 and hope they win it and this will be the best farewell for Leo Messi.

Actually, if Messi announces his retirement, it is the most anticipated thing, what he has achieved has all been achieved and it is an extraordinary achievement in the eyes of his fans. This is not about rivalry but it is about how this farewell is not interfered with by issues regarding his competition with C. Ronaldo, I think the current World Cup is the most appropriate time to declare farewell to declare retirement.

Messi should retire from international football, he has done very well for himself, and he has achieved a lot and helped his country to achieve a lot also, this is the time for him to retire, I was expecting Messi to declare his retirement after the World Cup, but he has not, but I believe he will do that very soon.
Same thing to Cristiano Ronaldo. He should also retire from international football. He has done very well for himself and for his country right now his already old so he should retire from international football and then after some years, he should also retire from football generally, it is time for him to rest. This is not time for him to continue playing football again.

Messi is still scoring goals and was one of the contenders for this year's Golden Boot. The legendary player is currently 39. As long as he is physically fit and mentally strong, I think it is logical for him to continue playing. Yes, many may think it is reasonable to give up his place for the new generation, but I think he is capable of scoring more goals.

Cristiano Ronaldo is up to 41 years old and he is still playing great and I would say the same for him because he is still physically fit and scoring goals. It may not be right for him to think of retiring now.

The football world expects a lot from these two senior players, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and the new players have a lot to learn from them. If they personally think that they will be able to continue playing for a few more years, they can continue playing. It is almost certain that both of them have played the last World Cup of their careers.

[Gallar]

Messi should retire from international football, he has done very well for himself, and he has achieved a lot and helped his country to achieve a lot also, this is the time for him to retire, I was expecting Messi to declare his retirement after the World Cup, but he has not, but I believe he will do that very soon.
Same thing to Cristiano Ronaldo. He should also retire from international football. He has done very well for himself and for his country right now his already old so he should retire from international football and then after some years, he should also retire from football generally, it is time for him to rest. This is not time for him to continue playing football again.

Yes,, it would be best for Messi and Ronaldo to retire from international football. They are indeed old, and let the younger generation replace them. That would be better. If Ronaldo and Messi don't retire soon at their advanced ages, I think it will have a negative impact on them. They will certainly perform less well and may even receive unpleasant criticism. Therefore, it is time for these two legends to retire.

They must have a lot of money now, so I think it's better for them to just enjoy life now. But even so, I think these two legendary players will continue playing for at least a few more seasons. As we know, there has been no discussion from them regarding this matter. Therefore, we will just have to wait and see how and when the end of these two legends will be.

[Tamaperdana]

So two days ago, Lionel Messi broke his silence and posted this on his social media:

The pain is immense, and it will take time for this wound to heal. But I also choose to remember everything that was good. I’ll remember the matches we fought back in, giving everything we had, and that will stay with us forever. I’ll remember the support of an entire country, which, together with the hard work and dedication of this group, helped us return, once again, to being among the best teams in the world. Right now, it’s difficult to appreciate what we achieved, but this group reached two consecutive World Cup finals.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for every message and every word of support. Once again, we managed to come together as a country, united by the immense pride of being Argentine.

I also want to congratulate Spain on winning the championship.

On one hand, it's hard not to feel sorry for him, it's almost definitely his last World Cup tournament (unless they develop a technology to reverse aging ) and he did surprisingly well in all games leading to the final, so him lifting the cup would be a perfect ending of his epic career. But then again, he's not necessarily the fairest-playing player out there. His and his team's behaviour in the final left a really bad taste. And life is not a fairy tale. Spain was a level above them and 100% deserved that win.

Personally, I don't feel too sorry for Messi, because he has proven that he is capable of bringing Argentina to the final in two editions of the World Cup, which is already very good in my opinion. Moreover, in the previous edition, Argentina managed to become champions, so with that, I don't think we need to feel sorry for him. Because even though Messi will retire now, it won't be a problem anymore, because Messi has won everything.

So with that, Messi will have no regrets anymore if he retires. But it is true that if Messi can bring Argentina to become champions in this World Cup, maybe that would be a very good ending. But yes, as we know, sometimes pursuing perfection in a career is not all possible. So, for that reason, I think Messi can just enjoy all the fruits of his labor, and there is no need to regret his failure in this World Cup.

[Olatundespo]

Messi should retire from international football, he has done very well for himself, and he has achieved a lot and helped his country to achieve a lot also, this is the time for him to retire, I was expecting Messi to declare his retirement after the World Cup, but he has not, but I believe he will do that very soon.
Same thing to Cristiano Ronaldo. He should also retire from international football. He has done very well for himself and for his country right now his already old so he should retire from international football and then after some years, he should also retire from football generally, it is time for him to rest. This is not time for him to continue playing football again.

It’s time for these legendary players to make way for the new international stars. I have to say that, between Portugal and Argentina, I see the latter faring worse without Messi, because without him there’s no one to create chances, and they’ll miss that emotional connection and goal-scoring flair that Leo was able to provide. All those assists he provided at the World Cup weren’t down to chance but were carefully crafted, and without their playmaker I can’t see them doing well for a few years.

The dependency of Argentina on the skills of Messi is too high and without his skills, no other player is able to execute the onslaught of attacks as well as him. The attack of the national team will not be focused and agile without the maestro. The team needs to regenerate a new generation of players fast enough so as to make sure that the team remains competitive in the upcoming major tournaments.

Although the Argentine team is highly dependent on Messi, there are many young and new players in the team who can perform well when the team needs them. Messi is getting older, he will not be able to maintain his good performance all the time. He should announce his retirement. If young and talented players are given a place in the team, those players will become great footballers in the future. Many talented players continue to play their best to get a chance in their country's national team, but as the seniors get older they should retire and new players should play in their place.
It is true that Messi is still scoring goals and he is still scoring goals in almost every match and if he is physically healthy, he can play for the national team for a few more years in the future or until the next World Cup.

[Ale88]

Although the Argentine team is highly dependent on Messi, there are many young and new players in the team who can perform well when the team needs them.

And who are exactly all these players? Because I didn't see a single one during the last World Cup. Argentina's tactic was very simple: let's pass the ball to Messi and let's all pray he makes some magic. Lo Celso, Thiago Almada, Nico Paz, Lopez... They are decent players, they can get better, but none of them helped the team.

[Joeboy]

Alot of Big name are also in Squad but I think nobody can replace Messi position.  Hope Leo can continue has career and play thr next worldcup in the 2030 and hope they win it and this will be the best farewell for Leo Messi.

It is best that he just retires now that he can still go 90 minute and more on the pitch coz I'm the next world cup, old age may not permit him to play for the full 90 minutes, which would really affect the team since they all depend on him..Truly I will not dispute the fact that Argentina has amazing players.. But then again they are all depending on Messi and this dependency makes it difficult for this individual players to perform at their best...So the retirement of Messi from international football, will make it possible the other younger players to also shine and be noticed..

[ZeroVinsonN]

like the 'Messi should have been the best player' group, Messi played really well in this world cup but he wasn't the only one.

I tried to find a real comparison between Messi and Rodri. For Messi at his age, this is really amazing. He can perform more effectively than Ronaldo. Maybe even Haaland and Mbappe. But if you look deeper, Messi is the best in attacking. However, if you judge by influence on the team as a whole, Rodri becomes the most dominant player in affecting the team. It seems this is what makes him chosen as the Best Player of the 2026 World Cup. Maybe this could be an endless debate because there are different arguments. But if you look at the stats, it seems Rodri has more roles for the team. But the best player might be different if Messi manages to win this year. IMO

I'm not even sure about the comparison you are trying to make right now, maybe leave who it's involved out of it, Messi played well in this world cup to be considered for the best player award because his team never always made sure to keep him involved, he was like a source of motivation for them, if they had been to him what the Portugal team was to Ronaldo then he probably won't even be considered for the award.

[satscraper]

like the 'Messi should have been the best player' group, Messi played really well in this world cup but he wasn't the only one.

I tried to find a real comparison between Messi and Rodri. For Messi at his age, this is really amazing.

Agreed. Before the start of this Cup, I thought he would spend most of the time on the bench serving as an icon for the other players on his team, but things turned out differently, and Messi has in fact been integral to Argentina's advance to the final match. I think if he had been included in the starting lineup of that match Argentina could have won.

[Barikui1]

Agreed. Before the start of this Cup, I thought he would spend most of the time on the bench serving as an icon for the other players on his team, but things turned out differently, and Messi has in fact been integral to Argentina's advance to the final match. I think if he had been included in the starting lineup of that match Argentina could have won.

Are you being serious about this?
Because I know that an average Lionel Messi is way better than most of their important players.
I honestly did not expect him to score as much goal as he did or compete for the top scorers award, but I know that he still have a lot of magic in him, which we all saw in most games they came back in a losing position and won.

I don't know how long he is going to carry on playing for the Argentine national team considering his age, but when he finally retires from the national team, it would be an end of an era, because they will have to build the team again not to depend on anyone, since they don't have such magical player in their ranks.

[W Jr.]

like the 'Messi should have been the best player' group, Messi played really well in this world cup but he wasn't the only one.

I tried to find a real comparison between Messi and Rodri. For Messi at his age, this is really amazing.

Agreed. Before the start of this Cup, I thought he would spend most of the time on the bench serving as an icon for the other players on his team, but things turned out differently, and Messi has in fact been integral to Argentina's advance to the final match. I think if he had been included in the starting lineup of that match Argentina could have won.

Messi is a fantastic player and he delivered a superb performance in this World Cup. He's approaching 40 and we still haven't seen any decline in his performance. He scores from free kicks, provides assists, makes incredible passes, and shoots magnificently from distance. It's as if he's still 25. This man is the most special player in world football. He performed very well with Argentina, and I'm sure Argentina wouldn't have reached the final if he hadn't been playing for them.